Gamma histograms for radiotherapy plan evaluation

Background and purpose The technique known as the ‘γ evaluation method’ incorporates pass–fail criteria for both distance-to-agreement and dose difference analysis of 3D dose distributions and provides a numerical index (γ) as a measure of the agreement between two datasets. As the γ evaluation index is being adopted in more centres as part of treatment plan verification procedures for 2D and 3D dose maps, the development of methods capable of encapsulating the information provided by this technique is recommended. Patients and methods In this work the concept of γ index was extended to create gamma histograms (GH) in order to provide a measure of the agreement between two datasets in two or three dimensions. Gamma area histogram (GAH) and gamma volume histogram (GVH) graphs were produced using one or more 2D γ maps generated for each slice of the irradiated volume. GHs were calculated for IMRT plans, evaluating the 3D dose distribution from a commercial treatment planning system (TPS) compared to a Monte Carlo (MC) calculation used as reference dataset. Results The extent of local anatomical inhomogenities in the plans under consideration was strongly correlated with the level of difference between reference and evaluated calculations. GHs provided an immediate visual representation of the proportion of the treated volume that fulfilled the γ criterion and offered a concise method for comparative numerical evaluation of dose distributions. Conclusions We have introduced the concept of GHs and investigated its applications to the evaluation and verification of IMRT plans. The gamma histogram concept set out in this paper can provide a valuable technique for quantitative comparison of dose distributions and could be applied as a tool for the quality assurance of treatment planning systems.